Optical fiber connectors are an essential part of substantially all optical fiber communication systems. For instance, optical connectors are used to join segments of fiber into longer lengths, to connect fiber to active devices such as radiation sources, detectors and repeaters, and to connect fiber to passive devices such as switches and attenuators. The principal function of an optical fiber connector is to hold a fiber end such that the core of the fiber is axially aligned with the optical path of the component to which the connector is mated (e.g., another fiber, a planar waveguide, or an opto-electric device). This way, light from the fiber is optically coupled to the other component.
It is well known that to effect optical coupling and minimize Fresnel loss, “physical contact” should be made between the fiber end and the optical path of the mating device. To effect physical contact, traditionally optical connectors have employed a “ferrule,” which is a well-known component for holding one or more fibers such that the fiber ends are presented for optical coupling. Ferrule connectors typically bias the ferrule forward such that, when the connector is mated to a mating component, a mating face of the ferrule urges against the mating component to physically contact the fiber end face with the optical path of the mating component.
To effect such physical contact, a conventional ferrule typically requires polishing. A polished ferrule may best be described by way of contrast to an unpolished ferrule. An unpolished ferrule has a geometry and anomalies on its mating face which make it difficult, if not impossible, to bring the end face of fiber housed therein into physical contact with the optical path of the mating component. In addition, when multiple fibers are affixed to an unpolished ferrule, the positions of the fiber ends tend to vary along the mating axis, thereby making it difficult to effect optical coupling with all of the fibers. Polishing the mating face of the ferrule tends to minimize these variances and shape the mating face of the ferrule to present the fiber ends in an even plane for mating.
Unfortunately, to minimize the variances and shape the ferrule, polishing must be performed to exacting standards. Polishing therefore tends to be costly and prone to reworking and waste, thereby lowering yields. The problems associated with polishing the ferrule are exasperated in multi-fiber ferrules which are more complicated to polish.
Therefore, there is a need for optically coupling a fiber-containing ferrule to an optical path of a mating component without polishing the ferrule. The present invention fulfills this need among others.